Avoiding Injuries and Damage When Using a Weed Eater

Using weed eaters to trim grass around the house and in the lawn is very popular today owing to the impressive results and the ease of working with this tool. A lot of people enjoy trimming grass with the machine, as it shortens the task considerably.

While it's easy to figure out how to use a weed eater well, it is not totally risk-free. If you are trimming with weed eaters, there are a number of precautions that you should take to avoid getting wounded by the machine or even damaging the machine itself.

​

Below are some tips to apply when cutting with weed whackers to avoid injury or damaging the weed eater:

Check the power cord

When working with an electric powered weed eater, you should first check the cord before plugging it into the power source. This will help you to avoid electrocution. If the cord is broken or torn so that a naked wire is exposed, you need to first cover the wire. You can use electrical tape to wrap round it in order to cover it. In this way, there is no danger or risk of electrocution, although you might experience shorts in the power if the cord is broken too badly.

Check the various parts of the machine

No matter the type of weed eater that you are working with, it is advisable that you first check the individual parts of the machine to make sure that everything is in order and functions properly. If all the parts of your machine are working and are in good condition before you start work, your machine will not only be at its optimal performance, it will also reduce the risk of injury occurring.

For example, a loosened nut if not properly tightened can fly off during cutting and can injure you or another person.

Cut with the line’s tip

When you are trimming your lawn, especially if you are using electric trimmer, you have to cut with the tip of the l﻿﻿﻿﻿ine. The tip of the line spins at the highest speed; if you are cutting with it, you increase the efficiency of your machine. Additionally, weed eater line is designed to break off slowly as it encounters stronger resistance. If you try to use the center of the line, you might slow down the speed of the rotation or end up getting the line tangled in the brush you're trying to cut.

Trimming around pots, fencing, pavements and other hard surfaces causes the line to slap against the hard surface repeatedly. If you are trying to use the whole string to cut at once you will be causing unnecessary wear and tear on your line by allowing too much of it to hit the solid surfaces.

Keep the machine off the ground when cutting

Normally, as you are trimming the grasses in your lawn a lot of particles (including stones and pieces of grass) fly off the ground. The higher the rate at which these particles are flying, the higher the probability of pebbles and hard particles being thrown at you and wounding you. To help avoid getting injured by flying debris, you have to raise the machine a little bit from the ground as you are cutting. Doing so keeps the line from contacting any materials on the ground and throwing them around. Instead, you will only be hitting the grass you want to trim.

The trimmer normally comes with a guard. You should angle the trimmer in such a way that the guard will protect you. Guards cannot block everything but they will minimize the amount of debris being tossed from the tool's cutting head.

Don’t allow the cutting head to rub off the ground

When trimming your garden, you should not allow the cutting head to rub off the ground. This is as simple as angling the trimmer's head properly. You should also adjust the head’s distance from the ground so that the entire line won't be rubbing off the surface of the ground. Doing this will also prolong the life of your string.

Avoid endangering the life of your shrub and trees

If you are trimming around shrubs and trees, you should ensure that the string is not stripping the shrub’s or tree’s bark. The shrub or tree can die if its bark is stripped too much. Cut a safe distance away from the base of the plant.

These are some of the basic precautions to take when you're using a weed eater. Following these tips can help you reduce the risk of injury or damage to your yard or tool.